1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to shower accessories and, more particularly, to a shower mounted back cleaning and massaging apparatus
2. Description of the Related Art
The age-old problems associated with the washing of one's back has never really been solved. Long-handled scrub brushes have been used in the past, but they are often difficult to use and ineffective due to the fact that full back coverage or adequate scrubbing action is often not accomplished. Also when one is taking a shower, vigorous scrubbing action is tiring work and many people quickly tire of reaching behind their back. This does not even take into account the elderly or physically disabled who are incapable of cleaning their back area. Accordingly, there is a need for a means by which an individual can quickly and easily cleanse, and scrub their back area of their body while in the shower without the disadvantages normally associated with conventional back cleaning methods.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,170, issued in the name of De Simone, discloses a hand-held or fixed massage shower having one or more spouts and one or more massaging means;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,907, issued in the name of Doggwiler, discloses a shower wall back scrubber and massager fluidly connectable to a shower head;
U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,604, issued in the name of Wurn et al., discloses a shower wall back scrubber and massager having a water fed brush that rotates while it oscillates vertically;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,132, issued in the name of Braun, discloses a plurality of cylindrical scrubbers open inwardly of a shower enclosure;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,068, issued in the name of Kenner, discloses a shower wall and bathtub mounted back washer having a pad of foam plastic with a waterproof cover;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,756, issued in the name of Williams et al., discloses a reciprocating shower brush head assembly;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,101, issued in the name of King, discloses a body scrubbing brush apparatus; and
U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,999, issued in the name of Mikiya et al., discloses a massage action shower head and massaging shower apparatus.
Consequently, a need has been felt for providing an apparatus and method of cleansing and/or massaging the back of a user.